Close, Glenn: Why She Had Never Won the Oscar Despite Multiple Noms | Emanuel Levy Close, Glenn: Why She Had Never Won the Oscar Despite Multiple Noms January 17, 2009 by EmanuelLevy Leave a Comment Despite five Oscar nominations in six years, two of which as Best Actress, and three as Supporting Actress, so far, Glenn Close, who turned 61 last March, has not won the Oscar. Will Close follow in the footsteps of Geraldine Page, another great New York stage actress, who finally won the Oscar at her eighth nomination Or will she follow the path of Deborah Kerr, who, despite six Best Actress nominations, had never won the coveted gold statuette. The Academy finally bestowed on Kerr the Honorary Oscar as a compensation for being snubbed so many times. Close Oscar History Close’s meteoric rise to stardom also owes a debt to her first nomination. Close earned a supporting nomination for her screen debut, The World According to Garp, in which she played the plum role of Robin Williams’s eccentric and liberated mother. In the following year, Close was the only actress from The Big Chill’s gifted ensemble to be singled out by the Academy.

The success of The Big Chill was largely based on ensemble acting by Kevin Kline, William Hurt, JoBeth Williams, and others. Yet only Close’s performance was nominated, indicating that it wasn’t just the high-quality of her acting, but also her newly gained status as an Oscar-caliber actress. In 1984, Close earned her third consecutive nomination for The Natural, as Robert Redford’s naive girlfriend. Neither the role nor her acting was extraordinary. Had another actress played the same role it would probably not have been recognized. Yet while watching The Natural, her fellow-actors focused their attention on her acting because of her Academy status. Close became a perennial nominee in the 1980s, making an effective transition from secondary to lead roles. Ironically, it took a villainess role, that of the “Other Woman,” in the suspenseful blockbuster Fatal Attraction, to put Close at the forefront of leading ladies, for which she was rewarded with a fourth (and first Best Actress) nomination. “I wanted to break out of the kinds of roles I used to do, because I was boring myself,” Close said about her typecasting as an earth mother.

Close’s new, more sexual look convinced producers of her versatile talent and wider range. In 1988, Stephen Frears cast her in the sumptuous costume picture, Dangerous Liaisons, playing another unsympathetic role, a manipulative French aristocrat, for which she received her fifth nomination. The cumulative effect of all that is that Close became a bankable star and one of Hollywood’s most respectable actresses.

Glenn Close Oscar Nominations 1982: Supporting Actress, The World According to Garp; the winner was Jessica Lange for Tootsie 1983: Supporting Actress, The Big Chill; the winner was Linda Hunt for The Year of Living Dangerously 1984: Supporting Actress, The Natural; the winner was Dame Peggy Ashcroft for A Passage to India 1987: Best Actress, Fatal Attraction; the winner was Cher for Moonstruck 1988: Best Actress, Dangerous Liaisons; the winner was Jodie Foster for The Accused Glenn Close - Biography - IMDb Glenn Close Biography Showing all 202 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (3) | Trade Mark (5) | Trivia (83) | Personal Quotes (100) | Salary (7) Overview (3) 5' 5" (1.65 m) Mini Bio (1) Six time Academy Award-nominated actress Glenn Close was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut.

She is the daughter of Elizabeth Mary Hester "Bettine" (Moore) and William Taliaferro Close ( William Close ), a prominent doctor. Both of her parents were from upper-class northeastern families. Glenn was often seen on Broadway until 1982 when she was cast in her award winning role as Jenny Fields in The World According to Garp (1982) alongside Robin Williams . For this role, a breakthrough in film for Close, she later went on to receive an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The following year she was cast in the hit comedy The Big Chill (1983) for which she received a second Oscar Nomination, once again for Supporting Actress in the role of Sarah Cooper. In her third film, Close portrayed Iris Gaines a former lover of baseball player Roy Hobbs portrayed by Robert Redford , in one of the greatest sports films of all time, The Natural (1984). For a third and final time, Close was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Close went on to star in films like The Stone Boy (1984), Maxie (1985) and Jagged Edge (1985).

In 1987 Close was cast in the box office hit Fatal Attraction (1987) for which she portrayed deranged stalker Alex Forrest alongside costars Michael Douglas and Anne Archer . For this role she was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress. The following year Close starred in the Oscar Winning Drama Dangerous Liaisons (1988) for which she portrayed one of the most classic roles of all time as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, starring alongside John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer . For this role she was nominated once again for the Academy Award and BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress. Close was favorite to win the coveted statue but lost to Jodie Foster for The Accused (1988). Close had her claim to fame in the 1980s. Close starred on the hit Drama series Damages (2007) for which she has won a Golden Globe Award and two Emmy Awards. In her career Close has been Oscar nominated six times, won three Tonys, an Obie, three Emmys, two Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: SomebodyinJersey and NAB Spouse (3) Often plays severe, career-driven women Her notable angular features Blue-green eyes Trivia (83) Was the fourth choice to play the role of Alex in Fatal Attraction (1987). The first choices were Debra Winger , Barbara Hershey , and Miranda Richardson . ( Sharon Stone also auditioned for this role, but was passed over). Lived with Len Cariou from 1979-1983. When Glenn was age 13, her father opened a clinic in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) and ran it for 16 years. During most of that time, the Close children lived alternately in Africa and at boarding schools in Switzerland. Born at 2:12pm-EST Keeps all her costumes after filming finishes. Has a cousin who prepares and sells herbal products on Long Island, New York. The two resemble one another. She became engaged to Steve Beers in 1995. Graduated from the College of William & Mary with a BA in drama and anthropology.

Made her Broadway debut in The Phoenix Theatre's production of Congrieve's "Love for Love." She was the understudy to the star Mary Ure , and went on for a Saturday evening performance after Miss Ure was let go after that Saturday matinée. Winner of three Tony Awards for her work on Broadway. Close's grandfather, Edward Bennett Close, was once married to Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal fortune and mother to actress Dina Merrill . Was hired to dub all of Andie MacDowell 's dialogue in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), because the former model had such a heavy southern accent. Taught actress Sara Rue to juggle backstage while on the set of "Barnum". Her chilling performance as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (1987) was ranked #7 on the American Film Institute's villains list of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains. Made her professional debut, as one fourth of the Green Glen Singers, in the original production of "Up With People" in 1964.

She and her costar in Fatal Attraction (1987), Michael Douglas , both attended prep schools in Connecticut. Close graduated from Rosemary Hall in Greenwich, and Douglas graduated from the Choate School in Wallingford. Later, the two schools merged, making them two of the most famous alumni of Choate Rosemary Hall. Chosen by Andrew Lloyd Webber to replace Patti LuPone in 'Sunset Boulevard' before its arrival on Broadway in 1994. Has won three Tony Awards: twice as Best Actress (Play), in 1984 for Tom Stoppard 's "The Real Thing" and in 2002 for "Death and the Maiden", and once as Best Actress (Musical), for "Sunset Boulevard", playing Norma Desmond, a role originally created by Gloria Swanson in Billy Wilder 's film, Sunset Boulevard (1950). She was also nominated in 1980 as Best Featured Actress (Musical) for "Barnum". Her husband, David Shaw, is a biotechnology entrepreneur, heading a company that makes medical devices and diagnostic tools for veterinarians.

Her performance as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (1987) is ranked #36 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. In 1984, became the third actor to receive an Oscar, Emmy and Tony nomination in the same calendar year (for The Big Chill, Something About Amelia, and The Real Thing respectively). Says she is often mistaken for her good friend Meryl Streep . Is a New York Mets fan and, in 2006, sang the national anthem at the Mets game that coincided with the Mets' 20th anniversary of their 1986 World Series win. Months after the film Mary Reilly (1996)'s production team had disbanded, the producers called back the stars to shoot three alternative endings. For one of them, she was flown back to London on the Concorde for only one day of work. Daughter of William Close . Daughter of Dr. William Taliaferro Close (1924-2009) and Bettine Close of Big Piney, Wyoming. Sister of Tina Close of Wilson, Wyoming; Jessie Close of Bozeman, Montana; Alexander D.

Close of Belgrade, Montana; and Tambu Misoki of Sacramento, California. Paternal niece of Edward B. Close Jr. of Littleton, Colorado. She has eight nieces and nephews. Daughter of Dr. William Close . Dr. Close was the personal physician and close friend of African dictator Mobutu Sese Seko . Besides being his private physician, he was appointed chief doctor of the national army and helped control the spread of the deadly Ebola epidemic that affected Zaire in 1976. He later become a leading researcher on the AIDS virus. Was considered for the role of Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983). Is an avid dog lover and writes a blog called lively licks for Fetchdog.com. Glenn owns two Montana terriers named Bill and Jake. Is the subject of a constant running joke in Sweden, which consists of her theoretically being married to Swedish soccer player Glenn Hysén, resulting in them both having the same name. Lives in Manhattan's renowned Beresford apartment building, northwest corner of 81st St. and Central Park West, which is also the residence of Jerry Seinfeld, Diana Ross, and other celebrities.

Is an "EGOT" Nominee, which means that she has been nominated for an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. She has won 3 Tonys from 4 nominations, as well as 3 Emmys from 14 nominations. She is a 6 time Oscar nominee, as well as a 3 time Grammy nominee, but has yet to win either award. Gave birth to her 1st child at age 41, a daughter named Annie Maude Starke (aka Annie Starke ) on April 26, 1988. Child's father is her now ex-boyfriend, John H. Starke . Returned to work 2 months after giving birth to her daughter Annie Starke in order to begin filming Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Was originally cast as Madame Raquin in In Secret (2013) but was replaced by Jessica Lange before production began. As of 2012, Close ties with Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter for an actress with the most Oscar nominations (6) without a win.

A relatively late starter for a film actress, Glenn was already 35-years-old when she made her debut in The World According to Garp (1982). Is a huge Madonna fan, and has been to all her tours since 1993. Is a prominent spokesperson for the "Puppies Behind Bars" program, an organization that provides young dogs to designated correctional facilities for training by inmates. The longest she has gone without an Oscar nomination is 23 years, between Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Albert Nobbs (2011). Has worked with director Rodrigo García three times. During a re-shoot of Fatal Attraction (1987), suffered a concussion from one of the takes when her head smashed against a mirror. After being rushed to the hospital, she discovered that she was actually a few weeks pregnant with her daughter; actress Annie Starke. Cover of TIME magazine with Michael Douglas . [1987] Founder and chairperson of BringChange2Mind, a US campaign to eradicate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness; her sister Jessie has bipolar disorder. Is an LGBT supporter, and throughout her career she has portrayed various lesbian, bisexual, and trans-gender characters.

She won a GLAAD Media Award in 2002, and was nominated for an Oscar for playing the trans-gendered title character in Albert Nobbs (2011). Good friends with actress Rose Byrne . Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 12, 2009. Received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Queen's University on June 13, 2013. Gregory Peck , Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem are her favorite actors. New York City, New York: Filming 5 to 7 [May 2013] Surrey, England: Filming "Guardians of the Galaxy." [July 2013] Appearing in London at the Royal National Theatre in 'Streetcar Named Desire' [November 2002] Finishing the final season of Damages. [March 2012] Los Angeles, California, Filming her next movie project "Low Down." [May 2013] With her sister, Jessie Close (who is bi-polar), appeared in a commercial for BringChange2Mind.org (mental illness).

[2009] Is a half-first cousin many times removed of Catherine Parr. She has English, as well as distant German, Dutch, French, Welsh, Scottish, and remote Italian, ancestry. Her paternal grandmother, whose maiden name was Taliaferro, was descended from an immigrant from Italy to England (in the 1500s) with this surname. As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Big Chill (1983), Fatal Attraction (1987) and Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Made her Broadway debut on Nov. 11, 1974 in the Phoenix Theater production of William Congreves's "Love for Love." Close began as understudy for star Mary Ure, but during previews director Harold Prince dismissed Ure for reasons that are unclear and promoted Close just a day before opening night. Ure left a note in the dressing room for Close that read, "Be brave and strong. My love, Mary.". Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from William and Nary in 1974.

Her family has been in Greenwich for twelve generations and her family was one of the four that founded the town in the late 17th Century. Her doctor father and her mother moved to Africa for sixteen years after 1960. The children went to Swiss schools for two years and Glenn made four prolonged visits to Zaire during that time. Although she played Mel Gibson 's mother in Hamlet (1990), she is only nine years his senior in real life. In 2014, Glenn Close revealed in an Hollywood Reporter interview that when she was seven years old, her father and the whole family joined an ultraconservative religious cult called "the Moral Re-Armament" (MRA). The cult, led by an anti-intellectual evangelical fundamentalist Pennsylvania reverend named Frank Buchman, had been founded during the 1930s to oppose the prospect of America entering the war against Naziism. Close said that while in the cult, "you basically weren't allowed to do anything, or you were made to feel guilty about any unnatural desire.

If you talk to anybody who was in a group that basically dictates how you're supposed to live and what you're supposed to say and how you're supposed to feel, from the time you're 7 till the time you're 22, it has a profound impact on you. It's something you have to [consciously overcome] because all of your trigger points are [wrong]." As a young adult, she performed in the group "Up With People," the cult's traveling performance offshoot organization that was designed as a right-wing counterpoint to the hippie movement, until she broke away from both the MRA and Up With People in 1970. Martial Corneville has been her personal wig-maker, and friend, for more than 20 years. Glenn hired him to work on her movie Albert Nobbs (2011), which he was later nominated for an Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup in 2012. Good friends with billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Buffett is an avid fan of Close's drama series Damages. Lived in Switzerland for many years as a child.

After her father, who was the personal doctor for Congolese dictator Mobuto Sese Seko, went missing for an entire year after a revolution within the African nation in the 1960s, she and her family returned to Connecticut. Auditioned for a role in American Gigolo (1980). Close said it was the worst audition she's ever done. The role eventually went to Lauren Hutton . Ended her 18 year feud with Patti LuPone at the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors, where they both paid tribute to Broadway legend Barbara Cook . LuPone was set to star as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, but was fired by Andrew Lloyd Webber . Close replaced her and went on to win a Tony Award for her performance. On June 16, 2016, Close donated $75,000 to the Mental Health Association of Central Florida, in order to give counselling and help to victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. Is a member of the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS). Close was given the opportunity to continue working on The Shield after receiving critical acclaim for her role.

She ultimately declined to do another season because she did not want to miss her daughter's last year of high school. She had also recently married her third husband and felt that she would have missed too much family time. Does her own singing in every movie. Has collaborated with Disney Pictures four times, the films include; Hook, Tarzan, 101 Dalmatians (and it's sequel) and Guardians of the Galaxy. Favorite actress is Katharine Hepburn. Her good friend Giorgio Armani once sent her a trunk-load of underwear after finding out she had gone commando to his shop opening. Close later admitted that the airline had lost her luggage and that it was not intentional. Film critic Pauline Kael told director Stephen Frears that she wasn't pleased that he had cast Close and Kelly McGillis for the two roles in Dangerous Liaisons (1988). She showed him a tape of Michelle Pfeiffer 's film Great Performances: Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987), so he could drop McGillis and cast Pfeiffer, which he did, but he kept Close for the leading role . When the film was released, she predictably gave a glowing review to Pfeiffer.

Everyone expected her to trash Close, but Kael wrote this instead: "the straight-backed Glenn Close, looking matriarchal and pure (even her teeth are perfect), gives a smooth performance that is by far her best work onscreen." The film earned Close an Academy Award Nomination as Best Actress. She is allergic to tobacco. Throughout the filming of 101 Dalmatians, Close had to smoke over 200 herbal cigarettes. Practices facial yoga, a beauty technique used to rejuvenate the face. Personal Quotes (100) I've often been mistaken for Meryl Streep , although never on Oscar night. I never wanted to be a man. I feel sorry for them. It's gotten out of control. It's taking bigger and bigger names to make smaller and smaller films. I worry that important films without a big name attached won't get made at all. [on her 1984 Tony win for playing Annie in "The Real Thing"] It was the cherry on the cake for one of the great experiences of my career. I love the chemistry that can be created onstage between the actors and the audience. It's molecular even, the energies that can go back and forth. I started in theater.

and when I first went into movies I felt that my energy was going to blow out the camera. [1996, on her role in Mary Reilly (1996)] I called Stephen Frears , who had directed me in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), and I said, 'C'mon, everyone from Dangerous is in this film, I want a part.' I felt left out. So he gave me the part of a bordello owner, and I thought it would take a week-go to London, have some fun, and come home. But it was hard. They wanted this Liverpudlian accent and Stephen was great, because he kept pushing me to do stuff that I didn't know how to do. The character, I think, was quite interesting. But she's in only three scenes." [1996, on her role in The Paper (1994)] I love Ron Howard , he's a wonderful director, incredibly prepared. But I have to criticize my performance in that movie. It all took place in one day. My character was having a bad day, so she's having a bad day throughout the whole movie.

But this was a comedy, and I think I was too serious, too dense. Yes, I think that describes my failure there. [1996, on Dangerous Liaisons (1988)] We filmed in France and I had given birth to Annie seven weeks before we started preparing for the film. For the first time in my life, I had these great breasts. It'll never happen again, but for one brief, shining season, I had the most incredible breasts. James Acheson , the costume designer, who won the Oscar this year for Restoration (1995), did the costumes, and I just loved it because they pushed my breasts up and made me have cleavage. I guess I should be saying something more intellectual about the film, but I just remembered how great it felt to have those breasts. [1996, on Fatal Attraction (1987)] The original ending was a gorgeous piece of film noir. She kills herself, but makes sure that his prints are all over the knife, and he gets arrested. He knows he didn't do it, but he's going to jail anyway.

But audiences wanted some kind of cathartic ending, so we went back months later and shot the ending that's in the movie now. When I hear that somebody's difficult, I think, Oh, I can't wait to work with them. Celebrity is death - celebrity - that's the worst thing that can happen to an actor. The best thing I have is the knife from Fatal Attraction (1987). I hung it in my kitchen. It's my way of saying, Don't mess with me. It is very difficult for girls. They're told to look one way, but to act another way. It always amazes me to think that every house on every street is full of so many stories; so many triumphs and tragedies, and all we see are yards and driveways. [on her Oscar-nominated role as Albert Nobbs] Albert is a survivor and I think she chose an invisible job. An invisible person chose an invisible job. In nineteenth-century Victorian times, servants weren't supposed to to look at anybody in the eye. They don't see you, they don't talk to you, you don't talk to them.

[on bringing Albert Nobbs (2011) to the screen] I really hope it engenders a lot of conversation because I believe there are a lot of people who put on faces. We all do it, every time we walk out the door. And there are a lot of people who have to hide who they are. And I think this story speaks to that. All great art comes from a sense of outrage. What's so fascinating about people is what they don't show. People are masters at it; usually actors show too much. Good live theater disturbs molecules. You create an energy source around yourself and it alternates between you and the audience. Anybody who sees live theater should come out a little rearranged. I am extremely shy. I am not happy in crowds of people. You have to love the characters you play, even if no one else does. As an actor, I go where the good writing is. That's the bottom line. Acting, to me, is about the incredible adventure of examining the landscape of human heart and soul. That's basically what we do. The word diva has a negative connotation.

My definition of a diva is somebody whose talent does not match what they're trying to play, so all this temperament comes out. We have to be vulnerable as actors, but we have to protect ourselves. I get bored talking about myself, but I can talk about the work. Good roles are hard to find no matter what age. I think there are certain actors that have that kind of energy about them, that taking over a room energy. I've been sacrificing my life for my work for 30 years, and now I want it the other way around. I want to find work that fits into my life and that would be based here. [on Bette Davis ] She wasn't trying to please people. She didn't say, "Love me." She had the courage to play unattractive characters with only the hope that people understand them in the end. I don't have the body or the face for romantic comedies, so I've never been offered those. The challenge is that a lot of people see you only as your last character, so you're constantly competing with whatever your last movie was.

With the hugely talented women I've worked with or observed, it's not a question about temperament or ego; it's a question about getting it right. If they've got a reputation for being difficult it's usually because they just don't suffer fools. I'm an actor, that's my contribution. It puts you in a kind of a strange situation where everybody is looking at every little thing you do. There's something about a catharsis that is very important. [on the stigma of mental illness] Change a mind and you can change a life. [on mental illness] It is an odd paradox that a society, which can now speak openly and unabashedly about topics that were once unspeakable, still remains largely silent when it comes to mental illness. Illnesses that were once discussed only in hushed tones are now part of healthy conversation and activism. Yet when it comes to bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia or depression, an uncharacteristic coyness takes over. We often say nothing. And so we marginalize the people who most need our acceptance. Our society ought to understand that many people with mental illness, given the right treatment, can be full participants in our society.

What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation. All your life you think 60 is ancient, and all of a sudden you find you're 60 and you don't really feel that different. I feel stronger and more engaged. This is the best time of my life. A person can never really fail unless they give up. It's not good to be in a situation where people don't want to direct you or don't want to question something. Listen to that little voice that says, 'Mmm, I don't think so.' Because when you override that, you basically override who you are. I don't live in Hollywood. I try to live a quiet life. I don't go out to a lot of events, and I don't go out buying a lot of clothes. In some ways, gender should be irrelevant. It shouldn't matter who someone is connected to and finds love and a life with. I hope [full federal equality] will come to be a reality for the LGBT world. I find it quite amusing that I can frighten children by just saying, 'puppies.' Usually they're disappointed I don't actually have black and white hair.

Learn to walk in each other's shoes. In a world that is depending more and more on screens of various sizes, don't forget to look into each other's faces. Don't forget the power of two eyes looking into two other eyes, and don't forget to listen to each other's voices. The Oscars for me is a huge honor to be recognized for whatever you've done, the body of work or movie you're being recognized for. But I'm not alone in my profession in thinking it's a bit crazy to say who's better than the other one because you're talking about art and artists. I love that I'm an honorary Doctor of Laws having just played a lawyer for five years. My dad was a surgeon and a very high achiever, and being an actress probably isn't a career that he had thought for me. So he actually told me that I'd better learn shorthand as a backup. I took such a course during college and I was really bad at it. Love makes no sense at all. But it's the most powerful and amazing force in the entire universe. I think it is a great privilege, to be an actor. I think our job is to make people believe. Everyone wants to believe something.

And besides helping people believe, I think we can remind people what it means to be a human being; how connected we are, how we need love, how hate is destructive. That to me is a privilege. [on the process of making a good movie] Start with great writing, then surround yourself with people worth spending time with. It makes me sad that I'll never play Juliet. But I don't spend much time thinking about it. [on Fatal Attraction (1987)] People still come up to me and say, "You scared the shit out of me." I always thought I was overweight. I look back and think I was a totally unfinished, insecure person. I was always morbidly shy outside of my family, and it's still pretty much my idea of hell to go into a room full of people holding cocktail glasses. [on becoming a mother] It's just balance all the time. I'm very happy to have work that my daughter can observe that I love. She'll see somebody who's very involved and passionate about what she does, and hopefully someday she'll have that same kind of fulfillment.

[on Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)] I'm doing that because it will then afford me to go do the other kind of movies that I really love. And hopefully I will have a great time. It'll be a new experience for me, but practically speaking it will mean that I can do those smaller movies and it'll be okay. [on theatre] To me, it's where you really develop as an artist. I have a huge respect for film acting, but onstage, you don't have editors and you don't have sound people. You don't have the close-up. You're out there with your fellow actors and the audience. It's a chemical mixture that's happened for centuries! There's nothing for me that really substitutes that. [on Katharine Hepburn telling her she was talented but that her feet were too big for audiences to take her seriously as an actress] I had to laugh when I read that. I've been thinking about writing an Op Ed piece about her. A few years ago I participated in a Kennedy Center Honors tribute to her and she wrote me a wonderful letter afterwards.

I know she came to see us three times when I was on Broadway in "The Real Thing." That's where the feet thing came from. I was barefoot in it. [on playing Jenny Fields] It's easier to be 155 than it is to be 58. 58 for a woman is a very subtle age because it's before your jowls start hanging, before there are big bags under your eyes, before any of the stereotypical age stuff. My mother is 58, and across the room you don't see a line in her face. She's an extremely handsome woman, but up close, there are a great many little lines. Without forgiveness, you just perpetuate what has been there before. As an actress I've terrified men. And I've certainly terrified children. But I've yet to terrify women. [on her character on Damages (2007)] Patty is interesting. People will say "Oh, she's evil" and "She's such a bitch." Again, she's a very strong capable woman. Yes, she pushes the envelope of what's moral -- she doesn't seem to have any basis of morality at times.

I remember reading something by Alan Dershowitz when I was first researching this, saying there's a lot of gray area in the law. Patty just lives in that gray area more than maybe any other character I've played, but in spite of that, she still, I think, is a symbol of power for women and I love that. [on acting on stage] I inhale the audience and then I begin. [on her character on Damages (2007)] Even though there is a huge entertainment quotient in the character of Patty Hewes, I am very psyched to play a woman who is unapologetic about her power and success. Contrary to the cliché, there's little that frightens us women. It's best to not compare your career to anyone else's. You can put yourself through agony comparing yourself to someone else. You have to ultimately own your choices and know that that's your life and those are your choices. You can't develop unless you take a risk. It's very healthy to be scared, I think you should do things that scare you on a regular basis. Acting is something I always knew I could do. I always lived in a world of pretend as a child.

There's so many women in the world who feel powerless. So if you play a character who embraces power, as a woman, it's effective and I think for some people quite frightening! [on her role as a lesbian soldier in the movie Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995)] The scene at the end, although I was very open minded and supportive, when Judy Davis and I kiss at the end, I really felt that for 30 seconds, maybe a minute, what it really felt like to be attracted to my own gender. It was kind of revelatory for me. I'll never forget it. I have known many gay people and they're some of my best friends. We all went through the AIDS scourge, I've lost many friends and I've always been highly sympathetic to the plights of the gay community. Six degrees of separation, it's more like two in New York city. [ On playing Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard] I always felt like I was the weakest singer. I didn't have the fabulous voice that Elaine Page or Betty Buckley had, so it was daunting but I worked really really hard for this role.

[on marriage] Too many women define themselves in terms of a man. I think of men and women as two different species. Katharine Hepburn said they should live next door and visit each other once in a while. Not a bad idea. When I did TV as a young actor, people said it would kill my movie career. But if it's great writing, why not do it? An actor's goal is not to be interesting. That is the script's goal! Yours is to be truthful. I'm not a fashion icon and I don't want to be. I'm a terrible shopper. I freeze when I walk into a huge department store. I just run out of there. I've been on the best-dressed list and the worst-dressed list. I kind of was prouder of the worst-dressed list. [on Reversal of Fortune] I found that film, actually, very difficult, because I thought Sunny von Bülow was not written with as much empathy as she deserved. I was dying to talk to people who knew her, but they were intensely protective of her, so I never was able to talk to people about who this woman really was.

I think in many ways she was a woman who was caught in a life she was never really suited for. I heard she walked like a ballerina, that she was very shy. But none of that was really brought up in the script. It was one of the most brilliant scripts, but I think it was written much more from a man's point of view, from Alan Dershowitz's point of view, than from Sunny's. [on Madonna] I have been to her tours since 1993 and met her backstage in New York during her Confession Tour. She is my favorite performer, I love her. There will never be another Madonna in my lifetime. I was also privileged to see her rehearse her Sticky and Sweet tour when I was filming Damages in Brooklyn. [on the lack of roles for older women in movies] It's definitely an aspect of Hollywood. Everyone wants f - -able women in their movies. In this culture, f - -able women are young and thin and up to maybe 34 or 35. [on playing Eleanor in The Lion in Winter] I love history, I read everything I can get my hands on.

Eleanor of Aquitaine is almost on par with-she was cut out of the same cloth as-Elizabeth I. An extraordinary woman out of history, incredibly strong. There are some scenes in that that I'm as proud of as anything I've ever done. It's a powerful woman trying to be manipulated by a man and just turning around and saying, "NO. F--k you!" [on her role as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction] Fatal Attraction was really the first part that took me away from the good, nurturing women roles. I did more preparation for that film than I've ever done, talking to psychiatrists about why people would behave that way. Since then, I've been contacted by professors who teach psychiatry, saying this is textbook behavior for a borderline personality. But I wasn't playing that. She was not someone who was evil, she was someone who was desperately in need of help. I was shocked when that movie came out, that the feminists all thought she was terrible. I guess it's because they looked at it as trashing single, working women. But you don't play a generality like that, you play a specific person.

[on older actresses in movies] Films operate on the level of dreams and fears and projections, so when people imagine themselves, they imagine themselves in their glamorous prime. I think if there were an enormous audience clamoring for stories that centered on 50-year-old women, then these directors would be killing themselves out here to find those scripts. [on Madonna] 'Erotica' is just genius and I guess it has so many memories for me and the first time I ever saw her live in Madison Square Gardens. I saw her live in 2008 and I got the chance to go backstage and I was so scared! But she is lovely and she is fan of Damages, so not a bad compromise right? Fads will come and go and people will be hot and cold, but the thing you have to fight for tenaciously is to choose things for very personal reasons. That will be the sum of your career, not because you think something will make a lot of money or somebody thinks it'll be good for you. I think life is a series of difficult choices, and then life throws the inevitable curveball. I think more and more, getting through life is finding a sense of humor and being this wise person who laughs at everything.

Meryl (Streep) gave me this gift that made me sob in my (Sunset Boulevard) dressing room. Thank God I had already fixed my makeup, it would have set me back 30 minutes. She had this beautiful pair of pearl earrings that I first noticed on her when we first me and I thought they were so beautiful. A week later, a package arrived at the stage door and in it were these beautiful antique pearls with a note saying, 'They're battered but beautiful, just like the best of us.' It was the greatest thing anyone has ever given me. [When asked if she's worried about getting good parts as she ages] No, because I am privileged, and I'm also working my ass off now. There's also so many other things I'm interested in right now. Robin Williams was my friend. He was the star of the first movie I ever did called The World According To Garp. George Roy Hill was our director and he believed in Robin's transcendent talent. Robin was seriously determined to become a film actor and George took his desire seriously. It was wonderful to watch.

As we mourn his tragic death, we must remember him for the great waves of laughter that he was able to illicit from us, how his humor and insights--though they came from a place of pain and uncertainty---connected us and reminded us of how flawed and fragile...how human we are...how we are capable of moments of inspired transcendence and others of unspeakable despair. I am so deeply thankful that this dearly loved man graced this particular planet. [on her acting style] Good acting I think is like being a magician, in that you make people believe; because it's only when they believe that they are moved. And I want people to get emotionally involved. I think technique is important but it isn't everything. You can have a great technical actor who'll leave people cold. That's not my idea of great acting. As audience, I don't want to be aware of acting. I am really loving getting to the age where I have earned some gravitas in my profession, where I have learned my craft, and I am respected for that.

[on her profession] The danger is that there is so much noise around red carpets these days, that is what young people think it's all about; they want to get out of a limo in a beautiful dress, with all those cameras popping as they walk down the red carpet. That, to me, is the least interesting aspect of what I do. Oreos are my favorite. I pry them apart and scrape the cream out with my teeth and then eat the chocolate. I've loved them my entire life. [when asked if there was a rivalry between her and Meryl Streep] Who can compete with 17 Oscar nominations? You've got to let it go. If I didn't, I would have combusted long ago. [Asked if she regrets not having more children] I never thought about it much; I have a magnificent daughter. Having more would have been more of a challenge, and I wouldn't have wanted to be a single parent with more children. [on the ending of Fatal Attraction] I don't think it would've become the blockbuster that it did if they hadn't changed the ending - if they didn't give the audience a sense of catharsis.

It was only by killing Alex that order could be restored to the family. Americans like that. They like neat endings. Actors must maintain a child's appetite for mimicry, for demanding attention, and above all, for playing. I've wanted to do a movie with Disney since I was seven years old. I was convinced that if I presented myself to Walt Disney and knocked on his front door that he would immediately put me in his movies. TV and film used to be very different. I think the influence of the BBC and the emergence of HBO has certainly changed the landscape of American television and has pushed for higher quality programs. Salary (7) Simply Streep - Specials - Academy Awards - 1988 Total nominations for the film: 2 Oscar date: Don Gummer Best Picture Winner: The Last Emperor Who would have thought that, but even Meryl Streep was a "dark horse" nominee once. While her performance in "Ironweed" was praised by critics, it was left out at the award season, failing to garner any recognition from the Golden Globes or critics awards. But the Academy was more welcoming, giving her a Best Actress nomination as well as a Best Actor nomination to Jack Nicholson.

It was the first year that Meryl skipped the red carpet. But she could be seen jumping out of her seat and applauding her friend Cher, winning Best Actress for "Moonstruck". Cher was equally appreciative towards her "Silkwood" pal and said in her acceptance speech, "I would also like to thank Mary Louise Streep, who I feel so unbelievable that I did my first movie with her and now I was nominated with her and I feel really thankful". The Nominees Meryl Streep Ironweed Cher gained more respect for her film work as the widowed bookkeeper in "Moonstruck". Glenn Close played "the other woman" who won't be ignored in "Fatal Attraction". Holly Hunter was the year's breakthrough star with a leading role in "Broadcast News". Sally Kirland portrayed a famed actress, who was denied reentry to her native country after the 1968 communist invasion, in "Anna". And Meryl Streep played a former opera singer who's homeless and dying in the streets of Alabama in "Ironweed".

The Winner: Cher After an iconic music career with Sonny Bono and an even more successful solo career, Cher made her mark in film, starting with a first major role (and Oscar nomination) alongside Meryl in "Silkwood". After hits like "The Mask" and "The Witches of Eastwick" opposite Jack Nicholson and "Suspect" opposite Dennis Quaid, Cher won her peers' respect and Academy Award for her performance in "Moonstruck". While her film career pretty much stopped after a starring turn in the 1990 comedy "Mermaids", both Cher and Streep had (rather forgettable) cameos in the Farrelly Brothers "Stuck on You" in 2003.

Videos & Photos 1987 Academy Awards® Winners and History Hope and Glory (1987, UK) Moonstruck (1987) Actor: MICHAEL DOUGLAS in "Wall Street", William Hurt in "Broadcast News", Marcello Mastroianni in "Dark Eyes", Jack Nicholson in "Ironweed", Robin Williams in "Good Morning, Vietnam" Actress: CHER in "Moonstruck", Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction", Holly Hunter in "Broadcast News", Sally Kirkland in "Anna", Meryl Streep in "Ironweed" Supporting Actor: SEAN CONNERY in "The Untouchables", Albert Brooks in "Broadcast News", Morgan Freeman in "Street Smart", Vincent Gardenia in "Moonstruck", Denzel Washington in "Cry Freedom" Supporting Actress: OLYMPIA DUKAKIS in "Moonstruck", Norma Aleandro in "Gaby: a True Story", Anne Archer in "Fatal Attraction", Anne Ramsey in "Throw Momma From the Train", Ann Sothern in "The Whales of August" Director: BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI for "The Last Emperor", John Boorman for "Hope and Glory",

 Lasse Hallstrom for "My Life as a Dog", Norman Jewison for "Moonstruck", Adrian Lyne for "Fatal Attraction" This was the 60th year of the Academy Awards.

The 1987 Best Picture winner was Italian director/co-screenwriter Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-sweeping, big-budget, technically-brilliant film The Last Emperor (with nine nominations and nine wins!), filmed both in Italy and China with a cast of thousands. The spectacular historical epic, shot in China's Forbidden City (the first ever), dramatized the life of Pu Yi (played as an adult by John Lone), China's last Manchu dynasty emperor (beginning at the age of three) who was deposed only three years later, and used by the Japanese to be the puppet ruler of Manchukuo. The film featured 19,000 extras and 9,000 costumes. It was the only film produced outside of America or Britain to have received the ultimate award for Best Picture; it was not considered a foreign-language film, however, and therefore was not nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

The visually-striking film's nine Oscar awards included: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art/Set Direction, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Costume Design - but the Best Picture film did not have a single nomination in any of the acting categories. Only one other Best Picture film, the musical Gigi (1958), also scored nine Oscars from nine nominations. The two films were tied as the third most honored film in the Academy's history. The film's nine Oscar wins was the largest victory since West Side Story (1961) - with ten wins, the second most-honored film, following after Ben-Hur (1959) , with eleven wins. [This would change in future years.] Bertolucci's win as Best Director (his first) was for his second nomination as Best Director (he was first nominated as Best Director for Last Tango in Paris (1972)).

It was the first PG-13 rated film to win Best Picture, and the second of only three partly foreign language films (English/Mandarin) to win Best Picture (the other two were in 1974 and 2008). The other four nominees in the Best Picture category were: writer/director/producer James L.

Brooks' indictment of contemporary television journalism in Broadcast News (with seven nominations and no wins) director Adrian Lyne's controversial, shocking tale of the after-effects of a one-night stand, the high-grossing, sexy thriller Fatal Attraction (with six nominations and no wins) writer/producer/director John Boorman's British film with boyhood reminiscences of the wartime London blitz in Hope and Glory (with five nominations and no wins) director Norman Jewison's romantic comedy among Italian-Americans, Moonstruck (with six nominations and three wins - Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay) 1987 was the first time that all five nominees for Best Director were not born in the United States: Italy, Bernardo Bertolucci, The Last Emperor Britain, John Boorman, Hope and Glory Sweden, Lasse Hallstrom, My Life as a Dog Canada, Norman Jewison, Moonstruck Britain, Adrian Lyne, Fatal Attraction With Bertolucci's win, he became the first and only Italian filmmaker to receive a competitive Oscar. James L. Brooks was the only director of a Best Picture nominee who wasn't nominated for Best Director.

In his place, Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom was nominated for the engaging, off-beat film My Life as a Dog (with two nominations and no wins) about a young 1950s Swedish boy. Michael Douglas, lead male star in Best Picture-nominated Fatal Attraction, won the Best Actor award (his sole acting Oscar to date) for his performance as the evil, big-time, hotshot, ruthless mid-80s capitalistic trader Gordon Gekko, known for the statement: "Greed is good," who uses underling Charlie Sheen as his insider-dealer in writer/director Oliver Stone's Wall Street (the film's sole nomination and win).

The other Best Actor nominees were: William Hurt (with his third consecutive nomination) as handsome, dim-witted newscaster Tom Grunick in Broadcast News Marcello Mastroianni (with his third nomination) as cruise-ship waiter Romano who remembers his younger days of womanizing in director Nikita Mikhalkov's Italian romantic comedy Dark Eyes (the film's sole nomination) Jack Nicholson (with his ninth nomination, and sixth Best Actor nomination) as skid-row alcoholic, Depression-era, ex-baseball player Francis Phelan in director Hector Babenco's bleak, unsuccessful film Ironweed (with one of the film's two nominations) - this ninth nomination made Nicholson one of the most-nominated performers (and in a tie with Spencer Tracy) Robin Williams (with his first nomination) as disc jockey Adrian Cronauer on mid 60s Saigon Armed Forces Radio in Barry Levinson's Vietnam-era film Good Morning, Vietnam (the film's sole nomination) Cher (with her second nomination) won the Best Actress award and her first Oscar as 38 year-old widowed and dowdy bookkeeper Loretta Castorini who lives in a Brooklyn Italian-American family and finds love with the brother (Nicolas Cage) of her fiance

e (Danny Aiello) in the appealing romantic comedy Moonstruck.

[She was the first single-named star to win an Oscar in Academy history.

She had also appeared in two other films in the same year - in The Witches of Eastwick (with two minor, unsuccessful nominations) and Suspect (with no nominations).] Her competitors for Best Actress were: Glenn Close (with her fourth unsuccessful nomination) as the madly-obsessed, sexy and scorned Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction Holly Hunter (with her first nomination) in a star-making role as the ambitious, network TV news producer Jane Craig in Broadcast News Sally Kirkland (with her first nomination) as an ex-Czechoslovakian and struggling actress living in New York in Anna (the film's sole nomination) Meryl Streep (with her seventh nomination, and fifth Best Actress nomination in the 80s) as Jack Nicholson's skid-row partner in Ironweed Better known for his world-famous James Bond films, Sean Connery (with his first nomination and first Oscar) won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role as the wily, street-smart, honest, veteran 1930s Chicago beat cop, Irishman James Malone who teaches federal agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) how to trap gangster Al Capone (Robert De Niro) in director Brian DePalma's re-working

 of the TV series in the film The Untouchables (with four nominations and one win).

The other four Best Supporting Actor nominees were: Albert Brooks (with his first nomination) as veteran TV correspondent/reporter Aaron Altman in Broadcast News Morgan Freeman (with his first nomination) in a breakthrough role as murder suspect and scary street pimp Fast Black in Street Smart (the film's sole nomination) Vincent Gardenia (with his second nomination) as Cher's father - an Italian-American plumber named Cosmo Castorini in Moonstruck Denzel Washington (with his first nomination) in a star-making role as non-violent black leader Steve Biko, a brutal murder victim in director Richard Attenborough's film about S. African apartheid, Cry Freedom And Olympia Dukakis (with her first nomination) won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as Cher's long-suffering, tolerant mother Rose Castorini who overlooks the affairs of her plumber husband (Vincent Gardenia) in Moonstruck.

Her Best Supporting Actress competitors were: Argentinian actress Norma Aleandro (with the first South American actress nomination ever) as the devoted maid who cares for cerebral palsy-disabled Gaby in Gaby - a True Story Anne Archer (with her first nomination) as Michael Douglas' warm and beautiful wife Beth Gallagher in Fatal Attraction Anne Ramsey (with her first nomination) as star Danny DeVito's mean old, gravel-voiced Momma in DeVito's own black comedy (his directorial debut) Throw Momma From the Train (the film's sole nomination) veteran actress Ann Sothern (with her sole Oscar nomination) as Tisha Doughty, the Maine island resident and lifelong friend of co-stars Lillian Gish and Bette Davis - two elderly sisters in the dramatic The Whales of August (the film's sole nomination) Oscar Snubs and Omissions: It appears unusually inappropriate that Fatal Attraction, a box-office hit and psychological thriller, was nominated for Best Picture, when other more deserving films were not nominated.

Any one of the following films could have taken its place as a Best Picture nominee: director Oliver Stone's drama about the stock market world of the early 80s Wall Street (with only one winning nomination for Best Actor) Steven Spielberg's epic of a British boy's perception of WWII Empire of the Sun (with only six minor nominations and defeated in every category by multiple-Oscar winning The Last Emperor - and a film that was overshadowed by John Boorman's similar Hope and Glory) director John Huston's The Dead (with only two nominations, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Costume Design) - it was Huston's last film (and released posthumously) the Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Film from Denmark, Babette's Feast Joel and Ethan Coen's stylish comedy Raising Arizona Stanley Kubrick's widely-overlooked Full Metal Jacket (with only one unsuccessful nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay) the un-nominated controversial and disturbing drama River's Edge Louis Malle's French masterpiece and Foreign Language Film nominee Au Revoir, Les Enfants Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom's My Life as a Dog Barry Levinson's Good Morning, Vietnam (with only one unsuccessful nomination) Woody Allen's Radio Days director Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom

 - a chronicle of apartheid opponent Steve Biko writer/director David Mamet's complex debut film House of Games Brian De Palma's The Untouchables The classic children's fantasy The Princess Bride was almost completely ignored (with only one nomination for Best Song), and should have received consideration for Best Picture, Best Director (Rob Reiner), Best Screenplay Adaptation (William Goldman from his own novel), Best Actress (Robin Wright Penn as Buttercup, the titular Princess Bride), and Best Supporting Actor (Peter Falk as the Grandfather).

Dire Straits band member Mark Knopfler, as he was four years earlier with Local Hero (1983), was again ignored for Best Original Score. Neither Jean de Florette (1986, Fr.) nor its sequel Manon of the Spring (1986, Fr.) were nominated for Best Foreign Film (Note: both films were released to the U.S. together in 1987). Gerard Depardieu's role as hunchbacked farmer Jean Cadoret from the first film went un-nominated, as did Yves Montand's role as the scheming Cesar Soubeyran in both films. And a number of star performances were neglected as nominees in some of these same films: John Lone, Joan Chen, and Peter O'Toole were unnominated for Best Picture winner The Last Emperor Danny DeVito as vengeful aluminum-siding salesman Ernest Tilley in writer/director Barry Levinson's comedy Tin Men Joe Mantegna as street-wise con artist Mike and Lindsay Crouse as his psychologist Dr. Margaret Ford in House of Games Nicolas Cage as H. I.

McDonnough and Holly Hunter (in her first starring role) as Edwina ("Ed) - baby-kidnappers on the run in the Coen's Raising Arizona Bruce Campbell as demon-possessed Ash Williams in the horror sequel Evil Dead II (aka Dead by Dawn) to the original 1981 film Vincent D'Onofrio as troubled, overweight Marine boot-camp Private Leonard Lawrence (nicknamed "Gomer Pyle") - mistreated and driven suicidally crazy by Senior Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R.

Lee Ermey) (also un-nominated), in Kubrick's Vietnam war film Full Metal Jacket Anjelica Huston as Gretta Conroy in father/director John Huston's The Dead based on the last short story of James Joyce's The Dubliners; memorable for the scene of Gretta's remembrance to her husband Gabriel (Donal McCann) of long-deceased lover Michael Furey who possibly died on her behalf ("I think he died for me") Joanne Woodward as fading Southern belle Amanda Wingfield in husband/director Paul Newman's adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play of the same name, The Glass Menagerie (with no nominations) Lou Diamond Phillips as Mexican-American 50's rock 'n' roll singer Ritchie Valens in La Bamba (with no nominations) Steve Martin as big nosed, unrequited lover Charlie C.D.

Bales in the overlooked romantic comedy Roxanne - neglected like he was in 1984 Jack Nicholson as the seductive devil Daryl Van Horne in the black comedy The Witches of Eastwick (with only two nominations and no wins) both Debra Winger as FBI agent Alexandra Barnes and Theresa Russell as the sexy seductress and suspected murderess Catharine in Bob Rafelson's Black Widow (with no nominations) Vanessa Redgrave as 60s London literary critic Peg Ramsay in Prick Up Your Ears Sheila McCarthy as self-effacing outcast and amateur artist Polly in I've Heard the Mermaids Singing

Question: Which role as 'the other woman' won Glenn Close her first Oscar nomination?
Answer: Fatal Attraction